ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday.

SFBS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Hovde Group increased their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Down 1.0 %

ServisFirst Bancshares stock opened at $93.62 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. ServisFirst Bancshares has a 1-year low of $49.72 and a 1-year high of $100.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.16. The company has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 0.86.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $256.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

Insider Activity

In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at $724,285.20. The trade was a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total transaction of $966,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 307,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,805,505.46. The trade was a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ServisFirst Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 4,880.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 138.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $84,000. Finally, LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $203,000. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ServisFirst Bancshares Company Profile

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans.